Pastors Lorenzo Ortiz and Rosalío Sosa—pillars of Fellowship Southwest’s immigrant relief network along the U.S.-Mexico border—are mending from COVID-19 infections and thanking God for lessons learned while enduring adversity.

Ortiz operates three shelters in Nuevo Laredo and Saltillo, Mexico, and Sosa coordinates 14 shelters in the state of Chihuahua, mostly in Juarez. Together, they serve 2,520 refugees who are waiting in northern Mexico as they work their way through the U.S. asylum process.

Fellowship Southwest supports their ministries, paying rent for some shelters, as well as supplying food and clothing, assisting with transportation, supplementing security expenses and meeting other needs. 

The week of Aug. 9, Ortiz, Sosa and some members of their families tested positive for COVID-19. Fellowship Southwest communicated their situation, and people from across the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship lifted them up in prayer. 

“Thanks to your heartfelt intercessions, Lorenzo and Rosalio and their families have recovered substantially,” reported Elket Rodríguez, immigrant and refugee advocacy and missions specialist for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and FSW. “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective,” he added, quoting James 5:16.

As they recuperate, Ortiz and Sosa said they are eager to continue to serve God in their ministries. Both pastors reported COVID-19 was a blessing in disguise, tightening their relationships with God and reinvigorating their commitments to ministry. 

“My relationship with God grew stronger,” Ortiz said. He does not know how he got infected with the coronavirus. He maintains social distancing and stays home as much as he can in order to avoid exposing others to the virus. 

Initially, Ortiz showed no symptoms of the disease. But eventually, he began feeling weaker. Then he suffered from headaches and joint pain, and he lost his appetite and sense of smell. Even though he hasn’t completely recovered, Ortiz feels stronger and no longer shows any symptoms. 

The traumatic experience taught Ortiz important lessons, he said: “This process prepared me to better understand how to assist and counsel families who get sick with the coronavirus. This will benefit our ministry tremendously moving forward.”

In contrast to Ortiz, Sosa suffered severe painful symptoms, ranging from congestion and persistent coughing to labored breathing. By Aug. 13, Sosa requested supplemental oxygen as his lung capacity diminished. 

“COVID-19 is like a spider web,” he said. “Once it takes ahold of you, it debilitates you,”

Sosa turned to prayer to overcome fears associated with his illness, he reported, noting, “Spiritual and mental strength are vital when fighting the coronavirus.”

In addition to pain and suffering, the virus delivered a blessing, he added. Although illness knocked him out of commission for a while, many of the volunteers he discipled and coached operated the immigrant shelters during his absence—deepening and expanding his ministry.

The disease’s tentacles reached further into Fellowship Southwest’s border network, but with less devastation. Jorge Zapata, associate coordinator of CBF Texas and director of FSW’s Immigrant Relief Ministry, and Rodríguez tested negative for the virus. Pastor Eleuterio González, who serves 1,600 refugees waiting for their U.S. immigration hearings in Matamoros, hasn’t shown symptoms related to the virus.  

After reports of COVID-19’s exposure within the FSW border network appeared in the Aug. 13 newsletter, friends from across the country inquired about the health of González, Ortiz, Rodríguez, Sosa and Zapata. 

“The Lord has responded with a refreshing showing of his great mercy and his immense love,” Rodríguez noted after contacting all the pastors. 

Please continue to pray for the full recovery of these ministers, their families and the refugees they serve. 

If you would like to support Fellowship Southwest’s Immigrant Relief Ministry, click here.